Evaluating regexp within strings in Ruby

Question

I have a simple requirement. I read a string from user( either track or trAck). I want a logic using Regexp concept which will check this user input against a regular expression (within a string) :

 def test_regex
      string = "tr[Aa]ck"
      string1 = /#{Regexp.quote(string)}/ #tried something here
      user_input = "track" #or "trAck"
      if string1 == user_input
        puts "REGEX works"
      else
        puts "DIDN work"
      end
    end
 end

I know I have blindly written some code. Need the right direction!

falsetru · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-26 11:51:32Z

3

Remove the Regexp.quote, or use Regexp::new. (If you use Regexp.quote, the resulting pattern will match tr[Aa]ck literally)

string1 = /#{string}/
# OR
# string1 = Regexp.new(string)

And use =~ operator instead of == to match the regular expression against string.

if string1 =~ user_input

def test_regex
  string = "tr[Aa]ck"
  string1 = /#{string}/
  user_input = "track" #or "trAck"
  if string1 =~ user_input
    puts "REGEX works"
  else
    puts "DIDN work"
  end
end

answered Aug 26, 2014 at 11:51

falsetru

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3 Comments

Aks.. Over a year ago

Works like Charm!! will accept your answer in 10 minutes :) Thanks a lot!!

Aks.. Over a year ago

How can we convert a regex back to string?? Actually I need to combine my regex within a string.

falsetru Over a year ago

@akshatha, You can use Regexp#source to get back the string.

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